


You struck me down

by Spitfire_and_SpaceDaddy



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Non-Graphic Violence, Sappy Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-13 16:22:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29156526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spitfire_and_SpaceDaddy/pseuds/Spitfire_and_SpaceDaddy
Summary: Street artist Wu never thought that his life would mean much, but after meeting Avatar Kuvira and one of the princes from the Earth Kingdom, things change. Not just for the better.---The hurt really isn't that bad, but it's definitely there.
Relationships: Mako/Prince Wu (Avatar)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	You struck me down

“Those guys... Are Mako and Bolin, from the Earth Kingdom. Mako is the first in line, even though he’s only twenty two. They had the same problem you did.” Kuvira explained, turning her gaze to Wu, whose thoughts seemed to be elsewhere. She smacked the back of his head. “At least pay attention when I’m answering your question.” 

Wu yelped loudly, covering his head with his hands. “It’s not my fault that I’m so distracted! You might be used to having all the attention to yourself, all mighty Avatar, but I still have a very big preference for men. So big I don’t even like women!” He didn’t even let Kuvira respond, his emerald green eyes turning back to the two brothers. If he had to guess, one of their parents was from the Fire Nation. Mako had a slimmer build and gold-ish eyes that people from the Earth Kingdom typically didn’t have. If Kuvira didn’t tell him they were related, he wouldn’t have been able to guess. 

Speaking of the woman, she had sighed loudly at his excuse. “Don’t bother them. They’re visiting Water Tribe island to get protection from us. I doubt they’ll need it. Mako is a fire bender and Bolin an earth bender. Thanks to training with the Dai Li, Bolin has a lot of control over the element and has mastered lava bending already.” She didn’t say anything about Mako’s bending. He guessed it made sense. Despite being able to control all four, Kuvira still had a preference for her ‘original’ element. “Korra and her army are taking over more and more cities. We should be cautious, considering what happened to other world leaders.” 

Wu nodded in agreement, rubbing the back of his neck. Korra was one of the last benders from the Water Tribe. She could heal and control blood, making her powerful and feared. She wanted to take back what the other nations took from her people. By force. 

It was a scary thought, but he was sure Mako and Bolin would be safe here. Amon, Unalaq, Kuvira… They were all very powerful benders. He was just here for entertainment. Somehow, he had been able to befriend the Avatar out of all people when he talked back to someone who was twice his size. In height and width. She had to save him, but she admired his bravery or something. He just thought she felt bad for him. 

After his parents got murdered when he was eight, he survived by guilt tripping people into giving him food or shelter and singing songs on the streets, trying to get people to give him just enough money to buy himself the necessities. It wasn’t his fault he was this scrawny. Even after being taken in by someone who worked at the pro-bending arena, he never ate much. Not that it lasted long. He lived with that guy for three years, before he met Kuvira when he was eighteen and getting swept up in a whirlwind of disturbing and life-threatening events. 

Fun times. 

During all this, dating was the least of his worries, but… With Korra, another big threat, looming over them, he figured he should try to do a few more fun things. They were all unsure of what was going to happen once she reached Republic City and he honestly didn’t want to wait around any longer. 

That's why he sat down next to Prince Mako during the dinner that Unalaq and his twins made for everyone, in celebration of them being all together or something. Yeah… Those twins. Despite managing to befriend Eska and Desna, he couldn't stand listening to their monotone voices for too long. He'd fall asleep within seconds! 

Mako, on the other hand, had a very nice voice and he felt so lucky that he was able to hear it the whole time. He also asked Mako some questions himself. Like how the Earth kingdom was and how he felt about being the future king. The answers he got were short, but he appreciated them nonetheless. 

After dinner, he helped with cleaning and the dishes, until Eska forced him to get out of the kitchen. With a sigh, he wandered outside to look at the sky and the beautiful stars it held. They didn’t have much longer and that thought scared him. The majority of the conversations around the table were about the possibilities of what could happen and what they should do to prepare for the attack. 

He sat down on the ground, a full grown turtleduck jumping onto his lap. “Hey there, Bao.” He gently petted her head, smiling at how excited she seemed to be to see him. Carefully wrapping his arms around her, he hugged her tightly. This seemed to be the only bright light at the moment. 

“May I join your moping session?” 

Or maybe not. “Of course! Have a seat. This grass is the least dirty of all the grass in Republic City. Don’t fact check that.” Wu chuckled, though he quickly started to feel more nervous as the prince actually sat down next to him. “So… What does a guy like you have to mope about, hm? Sad you have to wait longer to get crowned.” 

Wu thought he made a mistake when Mako started frowning. “No. Kind of the opposite, actually. I talked to Kuvira and we both agree that it would be better for the Earth Kingdom to become less uptight. I want the civillains themselves to pick their leader.” Mako explained. 

“Oh.” That’s not what he expected. “Good for them. I think the previous Queen would’ve hated that idea.” 

“Yeah, that’s why I’m moping. A lot of people might agree with her.” 

Suddenly, Bao escaped out of his hug, now jumping onto Mako’s lap. He gasped loudly, muttering ‘traitor’ at the bird. The turtleduck quacked loudly, causing both of the younger males to laugh at the pet’s silliness. His green eyes immediately went to Mako’s face, his cheeks heating up. Oh god, they barely met and he was already in deep. Mako’s laugh was like music to his ears and he really hoped everything would turn out alright. He had a spark to keep fighting for. 

\---- 

Too bad all good things came to an end way too soon. Despite having a few weeks longer than anticipated, Wu didn’t feel like he had enough time. Him and Mako were so close to being more than just friends and he genuinely felt like they were soulmates. The way Mako listened to him and actually took him seriously was so refreshing. He didn’t have any knowledge about politics, but he knew what people wanted and what they needed. Mako promised him that, after everything was over, he’d talk to the leaders of Republic City to make sure a proper orphanage would get built here. 

Oh, it had all seemed like a dream. The way Mako smiled at him as they hugged and whispered ‘promise’ into each other's ears. It was tough, saying goodbye at that moment. He didn’t want to let go, but Mako had to get the people to safety. Kuvira asked if Wu would go with her and he said yes. After everything they went through as a team, together with Bataar, he had to help. It was kind of uncomfortable, though. Before they parted ways three years ago, he kind of dated Kuvira…. And Bataar before that. Both at one point. God, he didn’t want to think about it. He had Mako to come back to now, even if it meant moving to the Earth Kingdom after all this. He just… Had to survive. He could do that. 

Except he almost didn’t. Apparently, the spirit power that powered the mech, was Korra herself. She somehow managed to learn how to spirit bend actual spirits and take the power from those poor creatures to fuel her crazy killer machine. When he was in there and had to shut the engine down, he came to the realization he had to fight Korra. After getting his blood bent and getting thrown around like a ragdoll, he managed to get a hold of one of the batteries that kept the energy of the machine in place, or something. He wasn’t paying too much attention, in all honesty, since he could die at any moment. Anyway, he took the battery and threw it towards Korra, who had tried using an icicle to break the object. 

The explosion that followed was deafening. 

He really thought that it was the end. His whole body felt like it was on fire and he got blown out of the robot, so he must be falling. It was too high, he knew this, so even if his body didn’t shut down from the amount of injuries he already got, he wouldn’t survive anyway. 

The last thing he could feel, before darkness took over, was a gentle breeze and two warm arms. 

\----

Mako was worried. Bolin told him this was the most expressive he had ever seen him and that wasn’t a positive thing in this case. 

The Firebender had claimed one of the chairs next to Wu’s hospital bed and he only got up when Wu got taken to one of the healing pools. His friend should wake up soon, but he was still scared. He left his royal duties with Bolin for the moment. It was just a few days anyway. He also had to be the one that had to tell Wu the news and keep him calm for it. At first he was a little hesitant, but it was either him or Kuvira and he knew how straightforward she could be sometimes. That would be too much. 

The third day, around noon, Wu finally made a noise and opened his eye. Mako was there, obviously, and gently grabbed Wu’s hand. “Hey. Can you hear me?” He asked softly, as a green eye turned to his face. 

“Yeah.” Wu croaked out, attempting to reach one hand up to rub his face. Just to freeze up when he felt bandages instead of skin. “Is jus’ fuzzy an’ all.” It almost seemed like part of his face just didn’t work and was covered up. His sight and hearing all just felt very different. “Did my prince charming kiss me awake?” There was a small smile on his face as he slurred those words, but it just seemed painful. 

Mako just scoffed. “Instead of immediately trying to flatter me, you should be worrying about your own condition. Just a heads up, you won’t be getting out of this bed anytime soon.” A brief pause. “The others are okay. Most of the civilians made it out and Kuvira dealt with Korra. You saved us.” Despite always acting a little cold, he did really care about Wu and everything he did for other people. “Try to sleep some more. I’ll be there when you wake up again.” 

Instead of getting a real reply, Wu just nodded and closed his eye. Mako pressed a quick and gentle kiss on Wu’s forehead and sighed. He’d tell his friend the bad news later. Thanks to the explosion, there was a very big chance Wu was going to be blind and deaf on one side of his face. It was already a miracle that he survived. If Kuvira hadn’t been there to catch him with her air bending, things would’ve ended differently. 

For now, they just had to be thankful that Wu was still there with them. 

\--- 

Extra: 

“Mako… I’m not ready to become a King.” Wu said with tears already rolling down his cheeks. 

“I’m not a king-” 

“What would Bolin say? He hates me!” 

“He doesn’t, just-” 

“Who would be my best man?! Bataar or Kuvira? What if they plan to get married and we steal the show?!” 

Mako was already regretting his decision. Oh, he was so glad he decided to do this in their kitchen and not in public, though. His knee was already starting to ache from sitting in the same position for too long. Maybe he should just throw the ring out, but the damn thing cost him a small fortune. Gold band with rubies with emeralds. He was serious, alright? 

“Just say yes, we can figure the rest out later.” 

Wu, thankfully, seemed to think that was a good idea. “Yes! I’ll marry you if everything works out.” He was smiling brightly and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend. Well.. Now fiancé.

“Gee, thanks.” Mako replied sarcastically, but still slipped the ring on Wu’s finger. “You’re such a dork.” He muttered, pulling away a little to look at Wu. After that fight, Wu got a terrible scar on his face, and an eye that was mostly white and looked glassy. It kind of looked like Wu got shot by lighting there, but it didn’t make him any less beautiful. “I love you.” 

“I love you, too.” Wu wiped his tears away and pressed a quick kiss on Mako’s lips. “You’re the bigger dork, though. Now you’re stuck with me forever.” 

“Like that wasn’t my intention.” 

“Are you saying you like me?” 

“We’ve been together for two years. I proposed to you.” 

“That’s not a yes.” 

“Agni, Wu. You know what I mean.” 

Before Wu could say something else, Mako kissed him. Ah. Some silence was nice too.

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for a challenge! 
> 
> If you enjoyed, please leave kudos and a comment. 
> 
> Thank you for reading!


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